Improvement in cabooses for freight-cars



UNITED STATEs PATENT OEEIcE.

CHARLES L. H-EYWOOD, OFBELMONT, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN CABOOSES FOR FREIGHT-CARS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 216,403, dated June 10, 1879; application filed f December 24, 1878.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEARLEs L. HEYwooD, of Belmont, county of Middlesex, and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cabooses for Brakemen of Freight-Cars, of which the following is a specification, accompanied by drawings, in which- Figure l represents a side elevation of a portion of a freight-train with my improved caboose applied for the protection of the brakeman. Fig. 2 is a top view of the same. Fig. 3 represents a face view of my improved caboose, shown with a portion of the roof of the car, and on a larger scale than with the former figures.

My invention relates to an improvement in cabooses intended to be applied to ordinary freight-cars; and it consists in such a construction as will enable those cabooses to be built cheaply, readily attached to or removed from a car, and made of any desirable width, whether applied to a car having a wide or narrow walking-board.

The letter' A indicates the car-roof, which has the central walking-board, B.

About midway between the ends oi`- the car I place my caboose C, under which the brakeman finds shelter against the weather. Said cabooseis constructed byhavin g several (about three or four) arch-shaped bows, D, of rattan, whalebone, springmetal, or other suitable material, placed across over the central part of the walking-board, so that their bottom ends, E, rest on each side of the boardBrupon the roof A. Each bow D is nearly equidistant from the others, and a sail-cloth or suitable rubber or oil-cloth, a, is spread over the bows from the rear to the front bow, and is held to each bow by having loops, rings, or eyes secured on the cloth and passed over the bows.

The bottom ends of these bows are held from spreading apart by means of a strap or rope, F, running from one end to the other under the walking-board B.

From the bottom ends of the two outside bows I employ a rope or strap, G, for each, with a hook, H, on its outer end to hook fast on the corresponding corner of the roof of the car.- Two of these ropes Gare made with a loop, I, to draw and stretch the ropes tight, and thereby stretch the cloth and bottom ends ofthe bows in longitudinal direction to a positive position upon the rooi` A.

The top of the caboose is secured in forean d-aft direction by means of the ropes J, which are secured at the central top of each outside bow corresponding withthe end of the car, to the central part of whichit is attached by means of a hook on its end to catch hold over the end of the car. One ofthe ropes J is also furnished with a loop, I, to draw up the slack of the cloth and ropes and hold them properly stretched.

The ropes J J, if made of sufficient strength, will also serve the purpose of a guide or hand rail, by which the brakeman may be protected from the danger of' falling oli' the car when passing from the caboose to the brake.

There may be, also, a piece of cloth attached to the front or rear part oi' the Caboose to pro` ject down from its top and have a central window in it, so as to protect the sight of the brakeman in stormy weather.

Instead of the hooks H any suitable device for catching hold of the roofs edge with the rope ends may be employed, and the loops I may be substituted by other suitable devices to draw the ropes tight.

The entire height oi' the caboose is made below that allowed to pass under bridges'and tunnels of the road, so that the brakeman, by taking shelter under the caboose, is snre to be so low as not to become injured by passing under them. In all cases the ropes J are made of inferior strengthto become torn first and allow the caboose to tilt in case of touching under a bridge, and still protect the brakeman.

From the foregoing it will be observed the construction of this caboose is of limited expense, and may be detached or attached very readily. It is of small weight, and may be readily carried.

By the combination of the cross-ropes F, covering a, and the ropes J J and G G the bows carrying the covering are firmly secured in place, and a caboose thus made which may be of any desired width, notwithstanding the walking-board may be quite narrow.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The combination of the bows D vD, connected at the bottom by cross-ropes F F passing under the walking-board, with the covering a and the ropes G G and J J, substam tially as described.

In witness whereof I hereunto set my hand this 17th day of December, 1878.

CHARLES L. HEYWOOD. In presence of- JAMES DANA, MARCUS STARBUCK. 

